Comcast Charters Rentrak VOD Essentials

Comcast, a cable and broadband communications provider, has agreed to conduct a trial of Rentrak's VOD Essentials, a system that measures and reports video-on-demand usage data.

The trial is scheduled to begin in May in the Philadelphia area.

“As video-on-demand continues to experience tremendous growth, we recognize the importance of accurately measuring viewership, and this trial is the first step toward that goal,” said Page Thompson, VP, marketing of new video products for Comcast.

“We are very pleased that Comcast selected Rentrak and VOD Essentials to participate in this very important trial that will help pave the way toward more efficient and accurate VOD usage measurements,” said Ken Papagan, EVP, new business development and strategic planning at Rentrak.

Comcast's On Demand VOD service is available to about 50 percent of its customers, and offers more than 1,800 programming choices -- from cable and broadcast networks to movies and premium content -- according to the company.